Indivdual reproductive decisions: Behavioral mechanisms and adaptive significance

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。了解产生和维持遗传变异的过程是现代生物学的一个重要目标。 在许多可能影响遗传变异的行为过程中，很少有像生殖决定那样直接影响。 生殖伴侣的选择决定了哪些遗传信息会代代相传，并影响后代的健康和生殖成功。 直到最近，人们才意识到，个别女性可能会有很大的不同，在他们的生殖决定，这种变异性可以在保持人口的遗传变异和多样的男性求爱行为的关键。 本研究探讨雌性繁殖决策的lekking雀形目鸟类，矛尾侏儒鸟（Chiroxiamalanceolata）。 在列克系统中，雌性主动评估并从展示的雄性中选择，但除了来自所选伴侣的基因外，什么也得不到（没有父亲的照顾，雄性也不控制食物或筑巢资源的获取）。遗传亲子关系分析显示，雌性矛尾侏儒鸟在不同的繁殖季节经常改变它们对伴侣的选择，即使以前喜欢的伴侣仍然可用，并与其他雌性成功繁殖。 雌性评估相同的雄性，但做出不同的生殖决定。 该项目结合了对行为的实地观察、对女性的自动无线电跟踪以及对父权和变异的遗传分析，以（1）描述产生伴侣偏好变异的行为机制;（2）识别与这种变异相关的女性特征。（如年龄，条件，和生殖经验）;（3）测试假设的好处，可变的生殖决定个别女性。 这项工作将提供急需的经验证据，以测试的想法，即可变的女性生殖选择的影响过程中的性选择在野生种群。 此外，该项目还将为研究生和本科生提供培训机会，为大学教学提供有用的成果，并通过向美国和巴拿马的公众进行宣传介绍而获得教育效益。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Understanding the processes that produce and maintain genetic variation is a critical goal of modern biology. Of the many behavioral processes that may influence genetic variation, few are as directly influential as reproductive decisions. Choice of a reproductive partner determines which genetic information is transmitted across generations and affects offspring health and reproductive success. Only recently has it been appreciated that individual females may vary considerably in their reproductive decisions and that this variability can be critical in maintaining population genetic variation and diverse male courtship behaviors. This study investigates female reproductive decisions in a lekking passerine bird, the lance-tailed manakin (Chiroxiphia lanceolata). In lek systems, females actively assess and choose from among displaying males, but receive nothing but genes from their chosen partner (there is no paternal care, and males do not control access to food or nesting resources). Genetic paternity analyses have revealed that female lance-tailed manakins frequently change their choice of partners in different breeding seasons, even when previously-favored partners are still available and reproduce successfully with other females. Females assess the same males, but make different reproductive decisions. This project combines field observations of behavior, automated radio-tracking of females, and genetic analyses of paternity and variation to (1) characterize the behavioral mechanisms that generate variation in partner preferences; (2) identify female characteristics associated with this variation (e.g. age, condition, and reproductive experience); and (3) test hypotheses about the benefits of variable reproductive decisions to individual females. This work will provide much-needed empirical evidence to test the idea that variable female reproductive choices influence the process of sexual selection in wild populations. Furthermore, the project will provide training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, results useful in university-level teaching, and educational benefits through outreach presentations to the general public in the US and Panama.